Birth

We come
wailing

the mournful cries
of our mothers

muffled like birds
we hear above the waters
screeching

We are breaking

Our bones and wings
crumble like stale bread
our feathers fall
aloof

Stillborn
earthbound
sinners/babes

birth:
We have slid through
black passages
long as unwelcoming arms
cold as dank earth
even now, split memory
tasting of milk and honey
stilllinger with bitter blood
on our hungry tongues

Our screaming
mouths

remain
stained
scarlet

fill our
fallow lungs
with the breath of God